Fish
by Calvin Wong
Summary: Kida makes a discovery in the caves outside the city that forever changes her life: A remnant of the ancients, and the ghosts of her past.


It was morning. The light shone brightly over the city as she watched, the line of darkness being pushed away by the rays. Soon the market would open, and the bustle of the morning would consume the entire city as the krsruste were sold, along with the ikanes and the ketamanas. The farmers would certainly have trade to offer as well, all their interesting herbs.

She was hungry. Perhaps later she'd go and buy a krsruste and eat it on the docks while she watched the fishermen work. Palace food did not suit her taste much; it was too stuffed and too spicy.

Her father had said that she was too wild. Maybe he was right; who knew, who cared? The city was safe... The Leviathan had been doing well so far. Not since the Shepard had any other outsider came to Atlantis. The city was impregnable.

'Kida?' She heard a voice call from behind her. She smiled as she recognized it to be his, and as his arms wrapped themselves around her, under her breasts, she whispered back.

'My love.' She said, putting her hands on his arms. She melted in his embrace, her mind awash with sensations.

'Admiring the common folk again?' He said, smiling.

'We are all equal.' She replied, moving her hands over his forearms, tracing lines over his skin.

'Are we?' He said, smiling. 'After all, the daughter of the king must have some privileges.'

She laughed, as she always seemed to do in his company. 'You know as well as I do that with all the advantages come the responsibilities.'

'But you enjoy your patrols. You love spending time with the people. To you, they are not responsibilities.' He said, rocking back and forth a little bit. 'Just hobbies.'

'Hobbies.' She said, chuckling slightly. 'Patrolling is hard work, as you should well know.'

'If I ever went on one, I would.' He said, sighing in the tones of one who'd not only been there, but bought the engraved crystal. 'It's boring being a kawalstena. There's no action anymore.'

'What about those rebels they say are uprising?'

'Rumors.' He dismissed, pulling her hair out of her face. 'You shouldn't believe everything you hear in the bazaar.'

'Palace guards are one of the most respected people in the city.' She said, returning to the previous topic. 'You have a lot of privileges as well.'

'Yes.' He said, turning her around so he could see her face. 'And one of them is that I am able to be with you.'

She beamed, as she always did when he complimented her in some way. He loved that smile of hers. He ran a hand down from her forehead, through her silken hair. She cupped her hand over his, smiling contentedly as he touched her.

'K'vla.' She said in a low voice. 'I love you.'

'And I the same, Kida.' He said, taking her by the elbows as she grasped his. He touched her forehead with his, slowly, closing his eyes and enjoying her affections. Her hands slipped away from his elbows to his waist, holding him close to her.

'Are you on duty today?' She asked, her intent for asking clear as she rested her head against his chest. His arms held her shoulders.

'No.'

She smiled, her hands traveling a bit lower.

'Good.'

Night fell more quickly than usual that day, almost as if the light were in a hurry to leave. The fireflies flitted around the city, and as custom, children ran after them, trying to catch them in their small hands.

And as custom, their parents scolded them for trying to catch fireflies, shooed them inside and put them to bed without any supper.

Kida walked down the market road, the stalls empty until the next morning bustle. Light from an overhead Night Tower bathed the entire street in a bluish hue, casting long shadows among the alleys and byways of the city.

K'vla was a heavy sleeper. She didn't wish to wake him; he was grumpy when he didn't sleep enough. His shift was early morning anyway, so he might as well get some more rest.

The spear she held in her hand clacked on the cobbles as she put it down every other step or so, like an old man might use a staff to walk. The curved blade gleamed in the light, catching bits of blue and throwing it around in the metal reflections.

It was a long walk to the bridge. She passed an old woman, sleeping in the street. She could not help but wonder who had thrown her out and why.

She reached the edge, looking down at the lava flows beneath the city. All that water pouring down and rising back up... It seemed almost a wasted cycle. The heat poured upwards, beads of sweat already breaking out on her forehead.

The first step onto the bridge was always the hardest. After that, everything followed naturally. Her long hair matted to her head and stuck to her back as the intense heat moved in waves over her body. The wood beneath her feet was warm to the touch, as she quickened her pace involuntarily. Every time she walked this bridge, she never spoke. It was as if she was saving up her strength to cross it as quickly as possible.

The caves beyond the bridge were her domain. Only a handful knew them well, and none as well as Kida. She'd even been until the lair of the Leviathan, only stopping because the tunnel leading to the surface was too deep to reach. She'd tried bringing skin pouches filled with air, but it still wasn't enough.

As she jumped from pillar of stone to pillar, her thoughts strayed slightly. What would she find today, she wondered. Landing on a particularly large outcropping, she stopped, sitting on her haunches and waiting.

The patrol tonight was not hers, but she came to the caves almost nightly, trying to find any trace of the ancients. She'd found bits of metal, old texts; all of which ended up in the palace's immense archives, filled with books and artifacts of the old city.

Holding her spear in her teeth, she started the climb down into the blackness. Her crystal lit her way, as she took the route she'd taken for years. Foothold there, grip here, watch the sharp bits, continue on down. It was purely habit. She'd climbed down this way so many times her muscles moved of their own accord.

Her thoughts dwelt on K'vla. He was kind, and meant well. She loved him, that was all she really knew. His parents did not approve, surprisingly, they thought that it was improper for a kawalstena to mingle with royalty.

She smiled broadly. Little did they know he was doing a lot more than just mingling.

A rock she'd placed her left foot on for as far back as she could remember came loose. She gripped hard with her hands to keep from falling, but it was too late. Spear in mouth, Kida fell silently to the ground below, a few pebbles heralding her arrival as she smashed into the stones. The spear fell from her teeth, rolling away.

Some words in Atlantean can be very difficult to translate. The one that uttered forth from Kida's mouth can only be best interpreted as 'Fucking hell.'

There was a gash on the side of her head. She'd struck something hard coming down. It felt bad when she touched it; it didn't hurt but the warmth coating her fingers was definitely blood.

Blowing on her crystal, she applied her hand to her temple and winced.

Five seconds passed.

Then she cleaned her fingers on the side of her sarong, felt for broken bones, and went to look for her spear.

She found it, stuck in the ground at an acute angle. Somehow the way it rolled must've caused it to pierce into the rock and stay. She put her foot on the end of it, levering it out of the ground.

The rocks it had been stuck in flew outwards. She picked up her spear, and bent down to investigate the hole she'd just created.

She smashed the end of the spear into the ground, as more rocks fell away. Digging with her hands, she touched the cool surface of metal beneath her fingers. It was big, too.

Kida smiled.

'There is blood in your hair.'

'Is there?' She said, turning towards her father. Damn. She'd forgotten to clean it off last night.

'How?' He said, his deep voice rumbling over her. He had a very commanding presence. Compared to her diminutive, albeit somehow threatening figure, she didn't quite look the part of future ruler.

'I fell while I was in the caves.' She figured the truth would work best.

'You were not on patrol last night.' He said. 'What have I told you about exploring the caves?'

'That the artifacts I find are invaluably useful to our scholars.' She replied.

'Kida!' He raised his voice. She lowered her head. 'You know better than to go falling around like a child in the caves. If you are injured no one will find you down there.'

'The patrols will hear me.'

'Not if you break your ribs.' He said. 'Not even your crystal can heal a pierced lung.'

She remained silent.

'Kida, I'm only concerned for your safety.' He said, trying to remedy his earlier admonishing. 'If you get hurt you know I would worry myself to death over you.'

'I understand.' She said, a bit ashamed of her recklessness.

'And what with the recent threat of uprising, I have had my share of problems as well.' He sighed. 'Understand Kida. You are young yet. You must learn responsibility before you take the throne.'

'Yes, father.' She said.

The king nodded, putting down his staff as he sat down, breathing out slowly. His age was fast catching up to him. His bones would ache sometimes, and his eyes were not what they once were.

'So tell me, then.' He said, leaning forward, expectantly. 'What did you find this time?' He said, grinning.

'It looks like a fish.'

'Of course it looks like a fish.' Kida said. 'I asked you here to help me carry this thing, not tell me what it looks like.'

K'vla scratched his chin as Kida went around to the front of the metal sea creature. 'It looks old.'

'The ancients must have built it.' She said, trying to find a good spot to gain leverage. It was stuck in the ground rather well; it had been an hour's work just to dig it out.

K'vla nodded, looking carefully at the intricate carvings on its surface. 'I've seen a few like it in the city, but never in such good condition.'

'The one under the courtyard was barely a lobster anymore.' She agreed. 'It looked like a whale had been chewing on it.'

'What do you suppose they're for?' He asked.

'Father told me they used to ride these things.' She said. 'War machines.'

He raised his eyebrows. 'Very interesting.'

'The word 'war' always grabs your attention, K'vla.' She accused playfully, throwing a pebble at him.

'As do you.' He said, reaching out to hold her. She let him; closing the distance between them with excruciating slowness. Her spear joined his on the ground as she let him touch her, closing her eyes and enjoying what he was doing to her.

'Mm...' The sound rolled low from her throat.

'You're so beautiful.' He said softly. Her eyes opened.

'Business first.' She said, squirming out of his grip. 'Help me get this thing back to the city and then you can have me.'

'Is that a promise?' He asked, a familiar glint in his eyes.

'Stake your life on it.' She said, picking up her spear, sticking the tip under the machine and pushing down hard on the shaft of metal.

He quickly followed her example, trying to lever the metal fish out of the ground. Half a minute of effort produced a small snapping sound.

'Damn!' She said as the tip of her spear broke. 

'It's stuck good.' He observed.

'Maybe from the other end.' She said. 'No, no, er...' She paused, deep in thought, her hand at her hip. 'Try from the side.'

More pushing yielded no results.

'No use.' He said, breathing heavily from exertion. 'It's stuck.'

'Master of the obvious as always, K'vla.' She commented, looking at her ruined weapon. 'The ancients certainly built things to last. My spear snapped like a ikanes scale.'

'Maybe we should get help.' He said. 'I have friends who are just as strong as I am. We could all-'

'No.' She said, shaking her head. 'This is our discovery.'

'Still not willing to share, Kida?' He said, mischievous undertones in his voice. 'I thought you'd learned that a long time ago.'

'Oh, I share, all right.' She said, moving in close to him. 'It's just that some things I share more, willingly, than others.'

'Is that so?' He said.

Her voice was low when she spoke.

'Stake your life on it.'

Frustration was something Kida was used to. Having once spent six hours trying to hit a piece of crystal out of the cave wall with her spear, spending a few days trying to figure out how to remove the fish from the ground seemed like a piece of krsruste pastry.

But it was driving her mad.

The machine had plowed into the ground at a sharp angle. The nose of the fish was buried about two feet into the rocks, the tail end was jutting out about four feet from the ground, and it was heavy. There was a decagon carved into the top of the fish, with a slot which she had inserted her crystal into. It was a perfect fit, but had no effect.

'Are you still scheming on how to get that fish out of the caves?'

'Yes.' She said.

'You and your curiosities.' K'vla said, getting up and holding her below her breasts, as he always did. 'Come to sleep.'

'I will not.' She said. 'That thing is infuriatingly-' She raised her hands, looking for a word.

'Immobile?'

'Yes.' She said, breathing out. 'Immobile.'

He traced a finger over her neck, feeling her lifeforce beat beneath her skin. So beautiful...

'K'vla?'

'Yes?'

'Do you have any other ideas?' She turned, looking at him.

'No.' He ran his finger down her shoulder to her back, tracing down her spine.

'Nothing at all?'

'Not a thing.' His finger reached the base of her spine, but traveled lower anyway.

Kida inhaled sharply.

'Are you sure?' She said, her voice unsteady.

'Yes.'

'No plans?'

'No plans.'

'Damn you.' She said, trying to keep her breath in control. Her eyes closed momentarily.

He shrugged. 'Should I stop?'

'For the love of the ancients, no.' She breathed, turning around and falling onto him.

Kida stared at the eye of the fish. It looked back at her, unseeing, unmoving.

Her father had confirmed that it was a vehicle. How it worked he had no idea... Only the soldiers knew that, and their knowledge was lost since most of the pilots had died in the Me Bel Mahk. The writing around the decagon were instructions for sure, useless she knew.

She ran her finger lightly over the words. Words. Cursed words. If only she could read them...

She heard sounds from above her, but didn't look up.

'You know, you didn't have to bring me any food, K'vla.' She said. 'I'm perfectly all right by myself.'

There was no reply as the figure jumped onto the rocks.

'K'vla?' She said, turning around. There was no one there.

She looked around. Perhaps a cave rat had stumbled on something. But she could've sworn she heard someone.

She turned back to the inscriptions.

'Royal bitch.' A voice said as something blunt struck her head. Kida's jaw hit the head of the fish as she fell, crumpled, to the ground. 'You should know better than to meddle with the ancients!'

Spear. Where was her spear?

Kida looked around, trying to get up. Another blow to the small of her back sent her back down.

'Your father was the cause of my parent's demise!' The voice cried out again as a foot kicked her in the general region of her kidneys. She howled in pain as she fell to her side, clutching her abdomen. 'Him and his pride! The ancients would never have allowed such things to come to Atlantis!'

A foot crunched gravel underneath it. She could see a leg from where she lay on the ground.

The curved edge of a spear, her spear, she recognized, hooked under her jaw, pulling her upwards. The blade pierced her skin, and she forced herself up in order to not let the metal go through to her mouth. 'Do you know what this is?' The figure thrust a book into her face. 'This is the last testament of the old kings! Atlantis was a proud city, covered in luxury and blanketed by happiness, until your father killed us all!'

'What are you talking about?' Kida managed. The figure's eyes shone with rage as he swung the end of her spear into her stomach again. She fell to her knees, and coughed blood onto the cave floor.

'Arrogant royals!' He shouted, the blade of her spear coming dangerously close to her eye, the tip glistening with her own blood. 'You father's meddling destroyed the city thousands of years ago. The technology of the ancients is not to be used! The last Atlantean will die with electricity coursing in his veins!'

'And you, my friend, will die with a dagger in your throat.' K'vla said as he charged the figure, throwing him over the side of the fish. Kida's spear fell to the ground, and he picked it up, swinging it towards the figure. The assailant drew a short knife from somewhere in his robe, dodging the spear's clumsy arc and thrusting the blade deep into K'vla's chest.

Kida screamed as he dropped the spear, clutching his wound as he fell to the floor.

'Bastard!' She cried out as she hauled herself up with her hand, leaning heavily on the fish. Her belly felt as though it were on fire.

'You will be the doom of Atlantis!' He said, rolling K'vla's body over and taking out his knife. 'The sins of your father will be purged!' He said, raising the knife over his head.

Kida closed her eyes, tears streaming down her face as the knife came down. The 'ting' as the blade bounced off the metal she lay on reached her ears at the same moment as the thud of his body falling to the ground. She opened her eyes, an arrow impaled in his back, the Atlantean patrol standing behind him.

'Your highness?' She heard a voice call out as a hand touched her shoulder. 'Are you injured?'

Kida did not reply, instead burying her head in the crook of her arm as she wept.

She did not return to the caves for a long time after that. Her father took her off the patrols until she healed properly, the injuries within her more extensive than thought possible. Fortunately she was young, and the healers did their jobs well.

K'vla's child, nestled within her, had been killed in the attack on her life. She kept her eyes closed as the stillborn baby was pushed from her. The pain numbed her mind, and she refused to even look at the child.

Both bodies, K'vla's and his daughter's, were put into the ocean and left to drift into the lava. She was conspicuously absent at the service. She didn't want to see. Never again.

The fish lay, forgotten, in the cave floor.

She never went back for it.


End file.
